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National Football League Team Profiles

America's Favorite Pastime

by Mark Zurlo

With millions of fans across the globe, football has become one of the world's most popular sports, and has (arguably) replaced baseball as America's favorite pastime. Want to learn more about your favorite NFL team? Check out these team profiles.

Fun Fact: When the Ravens moved to Baltimore from Cleveland following the 1995 season, fans were asked to choose between three possible names for the team: the Marauders, the Americans, and the Ravens. The winning name alludes to a work by famous poet Edger Allan Poe, who lived in the city for much of his life. Despite playing in Cleveland from 1946-1995, the team's history did not move with it, for the NFL considers 1996 the franchise's first year in existence.

Fun Facts: In 2006, Bizjournal conducted a study to determine which team had the NFL's most loyal fans based on a number of factors, including attendance at games, game-day weather, and the team's success on the field. Browns fans earned the top spot.

Fun Fact: Paul Brown, the founder of the Bengals, also founded and coached the Cleveland Browns. When he sold his ownership stake in the Browns, he was fired as coach. As an insult to new Cleveland owner Art Modell, Brown chose the same shade of orange used by the Browns as the Bengals primary colors.

Houston Texans

Founded: 2002

Owner: Bob McNair

Super Bowl Appearances: 0

Super Bowl Wins: 0

Hall of Fame Players: None

Stadium: Reliant Stadium, 2002

Fun Fact: The Texans became only the second expansion team to win their first game, defeating the intra-state rival Dallas Cowboys 19-10 on September 8, 2002. The team scored its first touchdown on only the third play from scrimmage.

Fun Fact: The Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. The city of Baltimore had threatened to seize the team by eminent domain if owner Bob Irsay attempted to relocate, so Irsay began moving the team using Mayflower shipping trucks at 2AM on March 29th without alerting anyone outside the front office, including the players.

Fun Fact: Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt also helped create the American Football League, which would later merge with the NFL, and Major League Soccer. Hunt would own FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew of the MLS in addition to the Chiefs until his death in 2006.

Fun Fact: The Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. The week preceding the game was highlighted by quarterback Joe Namath's guarantee of a Jets victory.

Fun Fact: In 1938 the then Pirates signed Byron White to what was, at the time, the largest contract in NFL history. White would only play one season with the team, and would later go on to become a Supreme Court Justice.

Fun Fact: In 1981, the Chargers defeated the Miami Dolphins 41–38 in a divisional playoff game that became known as "The Epic in Miami." The game featured 85-degree temperatures and high humidity, and ended with some players being carried off the field following the winning field goal. The next weekend, the Chargers faced the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC Championship game that became known as "The Freezer Bowl." The game, a 27–7 Bengals win, featured a wind-chill factor of negative 59 degrees.

Fun Fact: The Titans moved from Houston to Tennessee in 1997, when they played a season as the Tennessee Oilers in Memphis. The next season they moved to their new stadium in Nashville and became the Titans.

Fun Fact: The Cardinals are the oldest proffesional football club in America, begining as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago in 1898. They were later known as the Racine Normals and the Racine Cardinals (Racine being the street they played on in Chicago). When another Cardinals football team was founded in Racine, Wisconsin in 1920, the team changed its name to the Chicago Cardinals.

Fun Fact: In 1921, Bears owner and founder George Halas discovered that rival Green Bay had illegally played three college players, including Notre Dame's Harry Anderson. Halas had hoped to sign Anderson upon the completion of his college career, and he felt Green Bay now had a distinct advantage in negotiating with the player. Halas pointed out the Packers rule violations to the NFL, and the team was temporarily removed from the league. The team was reinstated in 1922, but not before Chicago had successfully signed Anderson.

Fun Fact: In 1932, the then Portsmouth Spartans defeated the defending champion Packers 19—0 in what is now known as the "iron man" game. Spartans coach Potsy Clark did not make any substitutions during the game, meaning 11 players played every offensive, defensive, and special teams play. The Spartans would move to Detroit and become the Lions two years later.

Fun Fact: After undergoing a $185 million post-Hurricane Katrina renovation, the Saints returned to the Superdome on September 25, 2006 to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 23-3. The team had played its home games in Baton Rouge and San Antonio the prior season.

Fun Fact: The Giants new stadium, which is planned to open in 2010, is currently projected to cost $1.4 billion. The team is privately financing the stadium along with the New York Jets, who will be co-tenants.

Fun Fact: During World War II, many NFL teams faced player shortages, and the Eagles were no exception. In 1943, they were forced to merge with the Pittsburgh Steelers, becoming the Phil-Pitt Steagles (although they were officially referred to simply as the "Eagles" with no city designation). The alliance only lasted one season, as Philadelphia was able to field a full team the next season. The Steelers, however, would go on to merge with the Chicago Cardinals for the 1944 season.

Fun Fact: The Seahawks have switched conferences twice. They began in the NFC West division in 1976 but were moved to the AFC West after just one season. In 2002, they were returned to the NFC West as part of the NFL's divisional realignment.